Vail Heartsblight

Second chances are not given to make things right but to prove we can be better even after a fall.

Fractured past, Unexpected future

Violence, abuse, and void magic are the hallmarks of Vail's past, an ignored street urchin of Ul'dah, a mage raised and groomed by the Corpse Brigade for nefarious purposes, a violent amnesiac in rehabilitation under the auspices of the padjal of Stillglade Fane.Most, if they know of him at all, it is by his reputation as a heartless, condescending, dangerous mercenary mage. It was an image deliberately cultivated, designed to push everyone away, as what he dealt with was hunting voidsent and other dangerous magic at the direction of Stillglade Fane and a broker of sorts named Asta'ya Nox, while accepting the same sort of jobs from those who were willing to pay exorbitant fees to further his reputation.In truth Vail did not expect to survive long, merely find some redemption before succumbing to the inescapable consequences of the past. Instead however he has found himself with friends better than they have any right to be and his memory restored, facing deep questions of identity and an unknowable future.At first encounter, Vail comes off as aloof, brooding, or suspicious, reluctantly approaching social interaction as someone whose learned how it's supposed to work but doesn't fully understand why. His emotional range is somewhat attenuated, especially on the positive end. Meeting his magenta-red gaze directly is a disconcerting experience and hard to look away from.

Hooks

  • Maybe you're missing it, but he seems to cast thaumatic magic without a focus

  • Are those weird spiky looking magenta/red glasswinged butterflies watching you?

  • Is he reading some niche book you thought only you knew of, or eating things like coffee beans and lemons straight, or both? Probably.

  • Who knew that healing magic could be cast not just as a gentle stream but like a bucket of ice water to the face? Fixed injuries you didn't even know you had, though

  • If you hired Midnight Rose for something, he may be involved

  • Often can be found at Sidhe's Shambles

Appearance

Midlander HyurMale, Early 20sShort for a hyur, his build would be called whipcord or wiry if he had a little less body mass, there is definite well toned muscle but not a lot of it by volume and it's hard to tell it's thereEyes are a deep magenta with red undertonesHair is a natural black with magenta dyed tips, thick and coarse, and the style not a deliberate cut so much as barely tamed to stay out of his wayHe has a number of old, faded, scars mostly seen on his face and something sustained when he was much youngerInstead of fingernails, he has short glossy black claws that he clearly seems used to wearing? having?

Rumors

  • He has some manner of blackmail that keeps the Thaumaturge's Guild from confronting him

  • He's been seen in the company of E-Sumi-Yan multiple times

  • It's rumors that while on jobs, he has ruthlessly attacked a child that later disappeared, led a client to his death, refused to protect a client from non arcane assault without extra payment, and other questionable things

  • Some say the shadows around him behave oddly, and they hide inhuman things

  • Within certain establishments that cater to specific, likeminded clientele he is rarely without company.

  • He can read any book given to him

Connections

Mali Darksidhe - Former Best Frienemy, current Tsundere BFF, there for each other, and each other's throatsCota Khoyor - Work partner turned unstoppable friend and valued substitute conscienceRaina Vespera - Former foe, Mali's wife, somewhere between adopted family and enforcer of peace and sanity.Asta'ya Nox - A reliable professional employer, with a fraught personal relationshipIn terms of anything more intimate, Vail is a disaster. Alloaro pan with strong masochistic tendencies, no one has ever attempted to pursue anything further with him than temporary gratification and he fundamentally doesn't understand the desire enough to initiate it himself

Hi! I'm Kai, I play on Pacific time(UTC -7/8).Vail look fun but not quite what you're looking for? You can check out the rest of my characters here!I'm a veteran TTRPG and MMORPG player from Shadowrun, Exalted, City of Heroes, Wildstar, The Secret World, and now Final Fantasy XIV, and I enjoy meeting new people to RP my characters with and tell their stories. I am willing to give just about anyone a chance, as long as they are 18+ for the sake of everyone's safety and you don't want ERP(I'm a fade to black sort).You can find me in many FFXIV Discords, or as virtual_kai globally, just mention what you're contacting me about! Please keep in mind the stories I roleplay with my characters are just that, and keep in character actions and feelings separate from out of character ones. Communication is everything!

You Shouldn't Be Here...

Ignore the dark shadows and inconvenient truths and walk in the light

Good and Evil, Light and Dark, hold onto simple ideals and ignore what you might have seen.A fleeting glimpse of too many violet, glowing eyes in black sclera, the brush of a fire that burned cold and illuminated nothing. Shadows distorted in his wake.Did you peer into the aether and see his? Like shattered safety glass, irreparably broken into a million pieces, but still held together by something dense and deep, folded in upon itself.Glasswinged butterflies are not to be followed, they lead only to blood, aether, destruction, and inconvenient truths.Walk away, back to a place where the question is "who are you" instead of "what".